Scar/Main article
Scar was the main antagonist in The Lion King. He was the younger brother of Mufasa and the uncle of Simba. He was born under the name Taka. Physical Attributes Scar is a large lion in terms of height as he stands face to face and shoulder to shoulder with his brother, Mufasa. He is, however, weak and thin possibly due to inheriting bad genes from one of his parents. Scar's fur is reddish-brown, and his mane is coal black. His eyes are lime green, and he boast many features that resemble an Outsider. Personality Scar is highly intelligent and charismatic, able to rally the hyenas to his cause and gain fanatical loyalty from Zira and her pride of lionesses. Scar is a psychopathic individual who is mainly concerned with gaining power and will kill anyone he sees as competition. Despite his ruthless nature he is a somewhat cowardly individual, more likely to run away from violence than confront it. When pressed though, he is portrayed as a fierce fighter who holds his own against and almost defeats Simba at the movie's climax. Due to him being able to plot the murder of his own brother and nephew, and execute said plot without little remorse, it could be said that he doesn't care much for family relations. If the theory of him being Nuka's father is correct, this is further proof, as he chooses a cub he didn't sire (Kovu) to rule instead. Scar's lyrics in the song "Be Prepared" ("meticulous planning, tenacity spanning, decades of denial, is simply why I'll be King undisputed, respected, saluted and seen for the wonder I am") and his inability to take criticism either from Shenzi or Sarabi establish him as being a narcissist. Information Backstory ".]] According to the novel series, The Lion King: Six New Adventures, Scar's real name is Taka, which is Swahili for "dirt", "trash", or "want". In A Tale of Two Brothers, one of the books in the set, young adult Taka is angry that Mufasa is chosen to be the heir to the throne. He gets even angrier when his father, King Ahadi, breaks his promise to go hunting with him, choosing to solve the drought problems in the Pride Lands instead. Taka wanders off to talk to Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed the hyenas, who tell him that if Mufasa were to be made to look like a failure to their father, Ahadi, and the rest of their pride, then he, Taka, will look good in comparison and take the throne. Taka then tricks his brother into going down to the waterhole, where a Cape buffalo named Boma is refusing to share the water. The Pridelands are in a terrible drought and any water there is precious. Mufasa begins reasoning with Boma, when Taka roars and says that Boma must move by order of the Lion King, or Mufasa will face Boma in combat. Boma charges out of the water at Mufasa. Mufasa escapes to safety with Rafiki, but Boma says that his herd will get Taka. Mufasa runs back to find Taka being attacked by Boma's herd. The largest of the buffaloes slashes Taka with his horns, knocking him unconscious. Mufasa leaps in to save his brother and the buffaloes ready themselves to attack again. Before they can do so, however, Ahadi appears with a large herd of animals. The herd surrounds the buffaloes and ends the fight. Later on, Rafiki examines Taka and finds a deep cut on his left eye, which will never fully heal. Taka then requests that he be called "Scar" from now on, as a reminder of how he foolishly allowed his anger to rule him.. The Lion King Scar's first interaction with Simba features him 'letting it slip' that the place he Mufasa told him not to go was the Elephant Graveyard. Knowing the cub curiousity will lead him there despite the fact Mufasa, Zazu, and himself specifically told Simba not to go, his plan doesn't work. Mufasa rescues the two cubs just in time, leaving him to watch his plan fail from atop a cliff. Back in the sanctum of the Elephant Graveyard, he catches Banzai, Shenzi, and Ed complaining about lions. He interupts them, and feeds them while asking why they failed. The hyenas mention Mufasa was the real reason the plan failed and Banzai asks rhetorically if they were supposed to kill him as well as Simba. Scar sinisterly replies "Precisely!" and begins to sing "Be Prepared". After taking Simba for a walk and dropping him off in the gorge, Scar signals the hyenas to trigger a wildebeest stampede meant to kill both Simba and Mufasa. Mufasa manages to save his son, but is badly injured in the process and as he tries to escape by climbing up the gorge. Scar is waiting and, after Mufasa begs his brother to help him, grabs his paws. Maliciously taunting him with "Long live the king", Scar throws Mufasa from the cliff into the stampede, where he is trampled to death. Scar then makes Simba believe that he caused the stampede (he had let out a loud yowl, while practicing roaring, seconds before the stampede began, and had not seen Scar throw his father to his death) and in turn killed Mufasa.Then Scar advises his nephew to run away, overwhelmed by guilt and fear. Just as the hyenas catch up with Scar, he orders them to chase his nephew and kill him. Unknown to Scar, however, they do not succeed because of a thorn bush, as Simba evades them and escapes into the desert. Scar then returns to Pride Rock and assumes the throne, letting the hyenas in the Pridelands and leading the other lionesses to believe that both Mufasa and Simba died in the stampede. During Scar's reign, the kingdom rapidly declines as droughts hit and food becomes scarce. During that time, Scar is seen reclining in the cave of Pride Rock with Zazu held captive in a ribcage. Scar ignores Zazu's advise and uses him just for entertainment. The hyenas then barge in, objecting to the lack of food and water. Scar, however is careless of their demands and even allow them to eat Zazu. Years later, Scar is next seen speaking severely to Sarabi, demanding why the lionesses won't hunt. Sarabi explains that there's no food or water and that they need to leave Pride Rock to survive. Scar refuses to leave, rebutting at Sarabi's comment that he can't sentence the pride to death with the fact that he is the king and can do whatever he wants. Then when Sarabi snaps at him about not being half the king Mufasa was, Scar strikes his sister-in-law saying that he was ten times the king Mufasa was. At this, Simba rushes down and wakes his mother up. Both Sarabi and Scar believe he is Mufasa, but Simba tells Sarabi he is Simba, and then advances toward Scar, ready to take the throne as rightful king. Scar forces Simba to reveal the "truth" about Mufasa's death in front of the lionesses and backs him towards the edge of Pride Rock's promontory. Scar taunts Simba by admitting that he killed Mufasa, and prepares to kill Simba before the rightful heir can tell anyone. As lightning starts to set fire on to the parched plains, Simba leaps upon Scar and forces him to admit his guilt out loud. A fierce battle ensues between Scar's hyenas and Simba's family and friends while Simba fights Scar, one on one. Eventually, Simba traps his uncle on Pride Rock's summit. Terrified, Scar pleads for his life, blaming his crimes on the hyenas; unaware that Shenzi, Banzai and Ed have followed him and can hear Scar's condemnation. Simba, not willing to sink to Scar's level, spares his uncle's life and banishes him from the Pride Lands. Believing that Simba would pull the same trick on him, Scar begins to walk off, but then suddenly flings some burning embers into Simba's eyes, temporarily blinding him. The battle continues, but after Scar leaps in to finish Simba, the younger lion finally defeats him by flipping Scar over a cliff where the hyenas are waiting. s surround Scar]] The hyenas, determined to get revenge on Scar for denouncing them as "the enemy", surround their fallen leader. Scar, pleading for his life, tries to explain to the hyenas that he didn't really mean what he said about them, but his pleas fall upon deaf ears. Fueled with anger at Scar for his betrayal (as well as, presumably, hunger, from his broken promise of them never going hungry again), the hyenas leap upon Scar and begin to eat him alive, as they are all engulfed in flames. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride Scar does not return as the villain in the direct-to-video sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, but it is revealed that Scar had a pride of lionesses loyal to him whom Simba exiled to the Outlands after he became king. They are led by Zira who is still fiercely loyal to him (their exact relationship is not clear, but implied to be romantic), who has three offspring: Nuka and Vitani,sired by Scar, and, Kovu. In the film, Zira attempts to use Kovu, who was selected to be Scar's heir, to kill Simba and become king. Kovu, however, is not Scar's son, as he later explains to Kiara, Simba and Nala's daughter, and Kovu's eventual mate. Scar only appears twice, the first time in Simba's nightmare. In the nightmare, Mufasa clings to the cliff above the stampede as in the first film, and Simba tries to reach down to help his father. However, Scar appears on the ledge and grabs Simba's paws, preventing him from reaching Mufasa. Scar laughs, suggesting Simba trust him and let Mufasa fall. Mufasa falls into the stampede and the cackling Scar morphs into Kovu. Kovu flashes an evil grin and throws Simba into the stampede, as Scar had done to Mufasa in the first film. He appears again when Simba banishes Kovu from the Pridelands. As Kovu looks into a stream, he sees Scar's reflection rather than his own. Given that Kovu had rejected defending his legacy, the young lion flees the vision in panic. The Lion King 1½ In the direct-to-video "parallel film" The Lion King 1½ (2004), Scar makes a few brief, non-speaking appearances in the scenes for which he was present in the original Lion King film. Other Roles The Lion King (musical) In the Broadway musical based on the original film, Scar is portrayed by a human actor in an African-style costume with a lion-face headpiece mask that comes down over the actor's face using a hidden remote control along with the use of acane. Scar was originally portrayed in the Broadway production by John Vickery, and is currently played by Patrick Page. Dan Donohue portrays this character on the Broadway tour. Scar's role is expanded upon with the song "The Madness of King Scar". In it, Scar begins doubting his reign, fearing that he might be losing the respect of the lionesses and that he needs a queen. He attempts to seduce Nala, who rebukes him by scratching his face. ''Kingdom Hearts II'' Besides appearing in various The Lion King video games, Scar (スカル, Sukāru?) also appears in the Disney and Square Enix game Kingdom Hearts II as the primary villain of the Pride Lands world, voiced by James Horan. Much like in the film, Scar murders Mufasa to become king, and under his reign, the Pridelands suffers a drought and food becomes scarce. Prior to the game's main protagonists' (Sora, Donald Duck and Goofy) arrival at the Pridelands, Pete (in the form of a lion) offers Scar use of the Heartless to maintain his hold on the throne. Sora (in the form of a lion cub, a change brought on by his magical clothes) attempts to confront Scar in order to save the world, but is turned down by Rafiki due to the latter's prophecy. Soon afterwards, they are confronted by Scar. Scar attempts to persuade the lionesses to hunt and kill Sora, Donald, and Goofy and nearly attacks them, but is pinned down by Nala in order to allow Sora and friends some time to escape. Later, Sora locates Simba and brings him back to the Pridelands so he can challenge his uncle for the throne. The confrontation between Scar and Simba that follows is almost identical to that in the original film, starting with Scar's overconfident confession that he killed Mufasa, the only noteworthy exceptions being no hyenas for most of it and Sora and his group replacing the lionesses. Sora's group saves Timon and Pumbaa from Shenzi, Banzai, Ed and heynas, while Scar and Simba fight. As in the film, Simba eventually triumphs over his uncle; though Donald initially wants to help him, Sora prevents him from doing so, believing that it is Simba's fight, and they should not interfere. Thinking Scar to be defeated, the protagonists are surprised when, as Pete explains, Scar returns to battle once again as a Heartless. Scar's anger and jealousy were so strong they lingered after death and consumed him. During the battle Scar uses a series of swift and strong physical attacks and powerful magic against Sora and company. Sora and his friends defeat Scar again. Scar is the only character in the Kingdom Hearts universe - excluding Xehanort - to keep his original form as a Heartless. Whether or not a Nobody will be fleshed out in Kingdom Hearts continuity is debated. By the time Sora returns to the Pridelands to see how Simba is faring, rumors of Scar's ghost haunting the Pridelands have driven Simba into doubt. But once he overcomes this problem, the "ghost" is revealed to be the interaction of Simba's lack of confidence and Scar's spirit. Multiple copies of Scar's "ghost" then combine to form a gigantic Heartless that is eventually killed by Simba and Sora. Scar in Relation to Adolf Hitler and King Claudius Scar is most likely an archetype of King Claudius, the villain from Shakespeare's Hamlet, and inspired by the real-life German dictator, Adolf Hitler. In the song "Be Prepared", in which Scar sings to the hyenas about how he will kill Mufasa and become King, there is a scene where Scar sits on a high up rock, watching the hyenas march along. This is very similar to the Nazi film, Triumph of Will. In the play, Hamlet, Claudius poisoned the old King Hamlet, his own brother, in his sleep in order to usurp both the throne and the queen, and attempts to do the same by poisoning his nephew, Prince Hamlet. Whereas, Scar pushes Mufasa off a cliff to his death in order to become king and uses the same tactic on Simba. However, Scar didn't necessarily have Sarabi or any of the other lionesses to be his queen. Although, in the Broadway version, Scar attempts to seduce Nala. Concepts Before the animators decided to work Jeremy Irons's features into Scar, he actually did have more obvious similarites to some of the other lions in the pride. His paws were colorless like Nala's and his jaw was prominent and square like Mufasa's as opposed to his final design where he boast colored paws and a gaotee. His also seemed to be thicker like his brother insteady of lanky like an outsider. In many of his concepts he is seen with a bi-colored mane; Usually black and white or black and cream. Trivia *Unlike the other lions, Scar's claws are always displayed throughout the movie. *In the early scripts, Scar was a rogue lion who wasn't related to Mufasa. Then, the filmmakers decided that the story would be more emotional and scary if the bad guy was someone in the family. So, they made him as King Mufasa's younger brother -- a creepy uncle for Simba, and a threat from the "inside." * Tim Curry and Malcolm McDowell were both considered for the role of Scar. *The animators were so impressed with Jeremy Irons's performance that they worked Irons' features into Scar's face. *Simba says to his uncle Scar "You're so weird!" to which Scar replies, "You have no idea." Jeremy Irons (the voice of Scar) gave this same response in the 1990 film Reversal of Fortune to which Irons won an Academy Award for Best Actor. *Originally, Scar was going to send adult Nala away from Pride Rock because she ignored his romantic approaches, after which she finds Simba alive and well with Timon and Pumbaa. This idea was ultimately abandoned, as sexual harassment was considered improper in a family movie. However, the stage musical adaptation includes this plot element as part of director Julie Taymor's efforts to expand the female characters' presence in the story. *In an earlier version of the film, Scar chases Simba out of the Pridelands himself. http://concept.lionking.org/art/story/stam36.jpg Gallery Scar2.jpg 16726.jpg|"...as the king's brother, you should have been first in line." scarsimba3.jpg|Scar with his nephew, Simba SSSS.png|"...Precisely" Idiots.jpg|"I'm surrounded by idiots." aaaaa.jpg|"...When at last I am given my dues" Scarstampede.png|Scar after the stampede Scar .PNG|Scar eulogizes over Mufasa's death Lk_storyboard1_051.jpg|Concept Art of Scar as he claims the Pridelands surprised.jpg|Simba confronts Scar 2.png|Scar along with the lionesses Scarpaces.jpg|Scar accusing Simba of murdering Mufasa dejavu.jpg|Simba and Scar during the final battle The-Lion-King11589100-19-41.jpg|Scar's final attack lion king isamisaa (3).jpg|Scar in Simba's nightmare Songs *Be Prepared *Be Prepared (Reprise) (musical only) *The Madness of King Scar Voice Actors *'The Lion King (1994) - film' - Jeremy Irons (speaking and partial singing). Irons damaged his vocal cords after screaming the line "You won't get a sniff without me!" in the song Be Prepared. This led to Jim Cummings being brought in to finish the end of the song, Jim Cummings (additional singing). *'The Lion King (musical) (1997) - (musical)' - John Vickery (original actor), Patrick Page (current actor), Dan Donahue (Broadway tour) *'The Lion King II: Simba's Pride - (1998) - (film)' – Jim Cummings *'Kingdom Hearts II - (2005) - (video game)' – James Horan References : Category:Deceased Characters Category:Lions Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Pridelanders Category:Antagonists